The Malta Independent on Sunday
Lazio comeback sinks Sassuolo
Lazio completed the comeback to beat Sassuolo with Ciro Immobile’s strike and a bizarre own goal, but were saved by the woodwork in stoppages.
The Aquile didn’t pull any punches, despite the fact over the next eight days they’d face Roma in the Coppa Italia semifinal and Napoli in a Serie A top four showdown. Stefan de Vrij passed a fitness test and Federico Marchetti was still out. Sassuolo were trying to avoid a sixth competitive home defeat in a row, but missed Francesco Magnanelli, Federico Ricci, Davide Biondini and Marcello Gazzola.
Lucas Biglia’s free kick was deflected for a corner, but the offside trap failed and Domenico Berardi was caught as he went round Thomas Strakosha. He had missed the last penalty against Milan and hadn’t scored since spending four months out with a knee injury, but Berardi buried the central spot-kick.
Moments later it was nearly 20, as Gregoire Defrel ran on to a long ball and prodded it inches wide of the open goal past an on-rushing Strakosha.
Pol Lirola burst down the right and went for it, smashing across the face of goal, when he perhaps should’ve pulled back for Defrel.
Sassuolo were dominating possession with some wonderful passing, but were caught out against the run of play. Felipe Anderson feinted a run to line up a shot, instead prodding the pass off the outside of the boot through for Immobile, whose angled drive found the far bottom corner. It was Im-
Serie A
Yesterday Sassuolo-Lazio ...............................1-2 AS Roma-Empoli ...........................late Today mobile’s 20th goal of the season, a new record for a single Lazio player in the Claudio Lotito era.
Lazio almost took the lead on the stroke of half-time, as Lirola’s error sparked a counter, Immobile’s effort was deflected to loop up over Andrea Consigli and Paolo Cannavaro kicked it on to the underside of the bar with an acrobatic goal-line clearance.
After the restart, Consigli got down quickly to beat away an Immobile strike and Felipe Anderson failed to make the most of a promising counter from substitute Keita Balde Diao.
Francesco Acerbi stopped Immobile turning with an unconventional and very risky challenge at full stretch in the penalty area.
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Alessandro Matri clipped the outside of the post with a smart flick, but had strayed offside. Similarly, Stefan de Vrij tested Consigli after the flag had been raised.
Lazio took the lead with a bizarre own goal, as Cristian Lombardi burst down the right and pulled it back into the sixyard box, but the ball had a double ricochet off Acerbi and Consigli to enter the net.
Sassuolo thought they had equalised at the 90th minute, but Lorenzo Pellegrini’s looping header smacked against the spot where the crossbar meets the near post.
Berardi also scuffed his finish wide from 14 yards deep into stoppages, as Sassuolo fell to their sixth consecutive home defeat in all competition.
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